Idaho and CWD

[Zackr]

I'm hunting Unit 16 this year and just received an email from Idaho about CWD in surrounding units. Do you recommend testing the meat? Or just let it be and live

 

[Mule3006Elk]

CDC states don't eat meat with CWD. But we all know the CDC says a lot of things.
No known human cases. Not thought to jump species (species barrier) but doesn't it mean it can't happen (per Clearwater biologist).
Testing does help with monitoring.
Unit 14 is very central which makes me believe it's more widespread. Isolated CWD in a central unit seems peculiar IMO.
There are plenty that don't worry about CWD, even in CWD area, don't test and eat the meat.
Hunters have probably been eating CWD meat for a long time unbeknownst to them (or known).

"The prions have never been found in muscle meat, even in infected deer. Officials are not recommending any general restrictions on consumption of deer meat. However, as a precaution, it is recommended that you do not eat deer or elk brains, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils or lymph glands (the tissue where the prions accumulate)." Illinois Department of Ag.

"There is no evidence CWD can be transmitted to humans. Epidemiologists with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found no evidence that prion-related disease in humans occurs more often in hunters and consumers of wild game than in the general population. More than 16 years of monitoring in affected areas of Colorado found no disease in people living there. Ongoing public health surveillance is important to fully assess the potential risk." Illinois Department of Ag.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

On March 13, 2005, a fire company in Oneida County, New York, fed the meat of a deer that tested positive for chronic wasting disease to 200 to 250 people. The company didn't know the meat was from a diseased deer. Laboratory tests for one of the deer served came back positive for CWD later.

Because little was known about what happens to people who eat infected meat, the Oneida County Health Department monitored the group's health through a surveillance project. About 80 people who ate the venison agreed to participate. Together with the State University of New York-Binghamton, health experts checked in with the group of mostly white males over the course of six years to see whether they developed any unusual symptoms.


In a study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Public Health, researchers found the group had "no significant changes in health conditions." They did report eating less venison after the whole ordeal. Otherwise, observed conditions, including vision loss, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, weight changes, hypertension and arthritis, were credited to old age.

"It’s the only study I’m aware of that has this progressive follow-up of a known point source contamination where we know the people ate a contaminated animal," researcher Ralph Garruto, professor of biomedical and biological sciences at Binghamton University, told USA TODAY.

Garruto said his team checks in with the group every two years and plans another follow-up in spring. Though he said the chance of symptoms appearing dwindles with time, there's a small possibility that someone might show signs of the disease.

-USATODAY 2/21/19

 

[EdP]

Removal of the the lymph glands in the neck is easy. Testing (in Wyoming) was free and took only several days. My choice was to test to be sure the meat I fed to my family, including a 1 y/o grandson, would be safe. We each have to make our own choice in that regard. If you are concerned about it, my thought is that a negative test (CWD free) might give you some peace of mind.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

IDFG website there is link for CWD testing and you can request a sample kit or multiple. They will send the kit to your home address.

 

[dwils233]

You should absolutely get it tested since it's an emergent disease in idaho- providing IDFG as nuch epidemiology mapping data as possible is critical for understanding the spread.

That said, you can always choose to ignore or even not read the results.

 

[IdahoSwede]

i think its helpful data to know if the deer had the disease. As for the meat...thats a whole different debate.

 

[Customweld]

You should absolutely get it tested since it's an emergent disease in idaho- providing IDFG as nuch epidemiology mapping data as possible is critical for understanding the spread.

That said, you can always choose to ignore or even not read the results.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Chris_in_Idaho]

I had read the prions had not been detected in muscle. But then the IDFG lady biologist who removed the lymph nodes from my deer said that prions are in fact detectable in the meat of infected deer, they just don't concentrate as highly as they do in the lymph nodes, so they use the lymph nodes for testing.

That was going to be my excuse to ignore results and start eating back straps, but now I'm stuck waiting. Apparently Idaho sends samples to Colorado for testing, and results take up to six weeks...

 

[jmez]

No such thing as a negative test, only not detected.

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

Living in SW Wisconsin where we have had it since 2002. We stopped testing once it was not mandatory. It area I hunt has had numerous positive tests. I guess I just don’t worry about it crossing the species barrier. If it does I’m a likely candidate to get it. I’m not processing meat and then throwing it out (3-5 deer/ year). Also I think our government (Wisconsin DNR) has wasted a ton of money as you cannot stop the spread of it. Our deer herd is doing great and the DNR does all they can to try and get people to kill more deer yet we still have plenty of deer around.
But to each his own. I’m sure there is comfort in getting it tested and finding out it’s not detected.

 

[KBaird]

Anyone afraid of ingesting CWD these days should refrain from hunting any area that could yield a positive critter. You’re likely ingesting more prions skinning, caping and removing lymph nodes for testing than eating a chunk of hindquarter. To be scared of the prions in a roast or tenderloin but not when handling the animal is pretty stupid to me. Leave them for folks who aren’t concerned and move on.

 

[KBaird]

Also, how many prions are breathed in by guys boiling skulls? Not afraid to take a few hits of prion steam, but don’t touch the meat! Doesn’t make any sense. Quit hunting.

 

[Fordguy]

I have all my deer tested, even if I have to mail in a self-collected sample. The CDC recommends that you do not consume the meat from animals that test positive.

At this point, everyone should do their own research and determine what the acceptable level of risk is for themselves and their families.
The only thing that anyone can say is that transmission to humans hasn't been proven- yet. Some similar spongiform encephalopathies (BSE) have been shown to cross the animal/human species barrier.

Primates have contracted CWD in laboratory tests, as have transgenic mice (mice with human DNA).

CWD and game care/processing/consumption is a topic that everyone should decide on for themselves without scorn or derision for their choice, or anyone telling them what they should or shouldn't do.

 

[KBaird]

I don’t see how anyone can rationalize handling the parts of an animal where it’s likely to be highly concentrated; sawing off a skull cap, boiling a head, handling lymph nodes, etc. yet are perfectly ok with ditching the consumable portions. How many skulls of positive critters are hanging in folks’ homes? Do we know that those are 100% clean? If you’re afraid to eat it, you should be afraid to partake at all. Otherwise you’re willingly wasting the resource.

 

[Fordguy]

How many people know for certain that their animal has CWD when those activities are taking place? My guess is very few if any. I've had to wait several weeks for CWD test results in the past, and the fastest I've had results is 4 days. Out of state hunters are required to have a clean skull before transport across state lines in most cases. I wear gloves and keep my mouth closed when I field dress and take samples (though I never did wear gloves until CWD was identified in the states I hunt), and I don't sit there and take a steam facial when I boil a skull for a European mount.

No one that I know of is eating deer lymph nodes or brains. Handling these tissues with unbroken skin is likely not a significant risk. Don't lick cervid nervous system tissues, snort them or stick them in your eyes. This is my PSA for the day.

Most areas with CWD do not have a 50% prevalence, or even a 25% prevalence. People shoot an animal, process it, and hope for the best since the odds are typically in their favor. If you've killed a CWD positive animal,you've still done something positive by removing that animal from the landscape- even if you end up discarding it. The state I live in currently doesn't test, but if you have meat from out of state that tests positive you are supposed to call in and they will arrange for disposal.

As for skulls hanging in people's homes- how many of those dried out skulls are people gnawing on? It's just never been a concern in my house, but then, I'm weird.

 

[KBaird]

Your first sentence is exactly what I’m getting at. If you’re scared, why risk it at all?

Glad to hear you take some precautions. I’m sure most folks who are willing to chuck their meat after a positive result do not.

Last I checked cervids weren’t typically cannibals. More than one way to ingest the prions. If you know that it’s not possible to get a higher dose boiling/power washing a head, no matter how tight your lips are, than eating a pepper stick I guess you’re a lot more informed than I.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2888164/

 

[Fordguy]

Firstly, using caution is not the same thing as being scared. In many states, the odds of a deer testing positive are extremely low. I'm not about to give up hunting because there's a 2.5:100 chance (or less) that I might shoot a diseased deer. There's a huge difference between processing an animal that has a very small chance of testing positive and consuming an animal that has tested positive for CWD.

Secondly, not sure why this is relevant but deer will chew on and eat deer carcass remnants, it's not uncommon, especially in northern winters and early spring.

Third, I didn't indicate that aerosolized nasal or other mucosal membrane transmission wasn't a potential possibility (under certain circumstances) but with a little care anyone can avoid or minimize those circumstances. I take care of my European/skull work outdoors. I don't have to breathe the steam (as stated above), it's not a concern. I don't power/pressure wash either.
How anyone else preps a European mount is up to them, as are any precautions they may take to reduce potential exposure to CWD prions.

You're acting as though it's a waste to harvest a diseased animal if the individual doesn't eat it. If you want to eat it, dig in by all means. As much as I enjoy venison, if it tests positive for CWD you won't find it on my plate.